


Devotion to the Sunlight from the Snow

by Kiwalla_Dragons



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, F/F, F/M, Forbidden Love, Freezer Burn, Freezerburn - Freeform, Mutual Pining, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Relationship Issues, Slow Burn, Trauma Bonding, Yearning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:53:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25191967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiwalla_Dragons/pseuds/Kiwalla_Dragons
Summary: Weiss has found herself drawn to Yang, like a moth to a flame. She knew that her touch was forbidden, but oh how enticing it was. If Weiss was the moth, and Yang was the flame- then Blake was the wind.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Sun Wukong, Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Weiss Schnee/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	1. Crimson from the Cape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team RWBY and co. have trouble figuring out what to do after Salem ambushes Atlas, and all of its inhabitants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place after the events from Volume 7

Weiss has found herself drawn to Yang, like a moth to a flame. She knew that her touch was forbidden, but oh how enticing it was. If Weiss was the moth, and Yang was the flame- then Blake was the wind. Blake and Yang's relationship was unpredictable, yet exciting, like watching the fire flicker and dance in the breeze, but both are so independent that it was unknown if their relationship would lead to a snuffed flame, or a forest fire.

That being said, Blake being the wind meant she was able to push Weiss back from the warmth of her flame- from the warmth of Yang. The moth is unable to control itself due to the pressure of the breeze, so it just goes along with anything the wind desires. Weiss had slowly begun to regret that decision.

She constantly found herself reminiscing over the little moments they had in the past, feeling the tingles of affection bloom in her chest while focusing on the memories of Yang's boisterous tendencies. Her contagious laugh, her shining smile, her soft blonde hair that sometimes got caught in her long and fluttering eyelashes. Everything about Yang was so appealing to Weiss, and it pained her to see it all go away. Weiss knew that Blake and Yang were getting closer, far closer than she was to Yang, but back then she still felt like the rug was ripped from under her by the hands that brought each other balance- only at the cost of her own.

Though, with everything going on at the moment- Penny being the Winter Maiden, Oscar being missing, and Salem appearing out of the sky, it's hard to feel like the world is anything but upside-down. Weiss felt the tension inside of the airship, everyone's eyes glued to the hundreds of Grimm going towards Atlas's CCTS Tower, where their estranged ally was waiting inside. 'Does he know that Salem was arriving?', she'd thought to herself. How can any of this actually be possible?

"This has to be a nightmare..." Weiss muttered, making eye contact with Yang, whose worried expression only fueled the feeling of anxiety in the pit of her stomach.

"What are we gonna do?" Nora pleaded, looking around at all of their faces.

"What can we do?" Yang looked down at her, then back outside, watching the hoard if Grimm make it's slow ascent upon Atlas. 

"Well we can't just sit here and do nothing!" Blake retorted, looking at Ruby, "If we fly you close enough, do you think that you can use your silver eyes on the Grimm?"

"What??" Yang turned to Blake, "and just let Salem get her corrupted claws on my sister? In this airship, all we are are sitting ducks! Ready for the picking!!"

"No, the people of Atlas- the people of Mantle- are the sitting ducks. WE are the bait that can lead Salem out of here!"

"You want me to be okay with putting my sister's life on the line against the big bad?? Her silver eyes plus Penny's new Maiden powers make this ship practically a gift basket for that _wicked witch_."

"Yang," Ruby stepped forward, putting a hand on her sister's shoulder, "I think we should go through with it."

"What?! You too?? Does no one on this ship have _any_ sort of self preservation??"

"I agree with Yang," Weiss spoke up, taking a step beside Yang, "I think it's too dangerous, especially in the air. What are we going to do if she knocks us out of the sky?"

Blake scoffed, "don't jinx it." Weiss was taken aback by Blake's tone, but Penny stood next.

"If we're taken out of the sky, I can just go outside and help you all land! This is where me being a robot comes in handy!"

"And if she shoots you out of the sky too?? She has _just_ as much a reason to go after you than Ruby! Don't you see how valuable you guys are?? You two are at the highest risk of being KILLED BY SALEM!! And I'm just supposed to let you fly to your graves?!"

Weiss put a hand on Yang's shoulder, making her clench her fist and shove Weiss's hand away, turning and walking towards the back part of the ship.

"Yang, we have to do this. If we don't, we're leaving Atlas, as well as Mantle, in a very vulnerable position."

"Ruby don't you get it?? If we fail, then we're doing the _exact same thing_. Flying in head first is just going to speed up the process of people getting hurt."

"And doing absolutely NOTHING is going to bring that same outcome!" Blake yelled. There was a tense moment of eye contact between the two until Yang looked away.

"I would rather there be an option where my sister _isn't_ live bait..." She crossed her arms and looked at the floor.

"I don't think there's a better option... We have to do this." Ruby began to walk over to Yang, but was stopped by her hand.

"Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it." She kept her gaze to the floor. Ruby sighed and turned back to Maria.

"Maria," she took a pause, gathering herself and looking around at everyone one last time, "take me to them." Maria nodded and flew the airship up towards the Grimm, who had finally began to attack the Atlas tower. Weiss made her way over to Yang, standing next to her as a form of silent solidarity. Her body was less tense due to her presence, but she still refused to look, let alone speak, to anyone. Weiss understood, to some extent. Winter being on the front lines, battling both Grimm and humans alike, and then refusing help after being beaten by Cinder was all so much to take in. She could just imagine what Yang must be feeling, what with her younger sister having a power that is sought after by the literal Queen of the Grimm. 'I'd be worried too...' Weiss thought, silently sympathizing with Yang with the rest of her friends were at the front of the ship, creating the best tactic as to how Ruby can get in and out without losing her life. 

It eased Weiss's nerves a little that Penny would also be alongside Ruby, fighting against each of the Grimm- as well as Salem herself. But they were only eased a little. There was still the fact that they were outnumbered, didn't have the higher ground, couldn't exactly fight head on with the Grimm without risking the airship. So much worry weaved it's way into Weiss's mind, her nerves getting the better of her shakey hands.

She suddenly felt a gentle yet firm grasp on her hand. She looked over and realized that Yang had noticed her distress. Smiling at her care, as well as them holding hands, she gave a reassuring squeeze.

\---

The time for Ruby to take her stand had finally arrived. It felt like the entirety of their journey had led to this, but were they truly ready?

She shook the thought from her head and held her breath, silently praying for the success of one of her closest friends. The side door opened and a gust of cold air rushed into the ship. It was a sobering and grounding feeling, truly marking this entire ordeal settle in reality. Ruby stood at the mouth of the opening, followed by Penny. Penny gave her a reassuring nod and took her hand.

And with that, the two of them leapt out of the airship. Weiss wanted to move, but her feet felt frozen to the floor. Yang's quick movement towards the door made Weiss snap out of it. She followed her and looked down at the pair, flying towards Salem and her Grimm. Weiss crossed her fingers, yet cursed herself at the helplessness she felt.

"Sh-Should I use my semblance to summon something to help them? I could-"

"No," Maria interrupted, "it seems as though Ruby has been having trouble fully utilizing the power of her Silver Eyes lately. Anything that the Grimm can attack and/or shatter to pieces would be merely a distraction."

"Oh..." She bowed her head and looked at the buildings below them. Was this truly a plan that can work? Weiss knew that she had doubts about Ruby in the past, but they were all proven wrong. But now? How could she be certain? How could she stand and watch as her friends put their lives on the line, while the rest of them just watched from a safe distance? If anything happened... She didn't want to think about what could happen anymore. She looked over to Yang, who was biting her lip. It was obvious that she wasn't handling the circumstances very well. 

Pietro cleared his throat, "Now Yang, I understand the feelings you must be experiencing right now. I feel the exact same. Penny is practically my daughter and I don't want anything bad to happen to her. But I can't let my own anxieties stop her from what she has to do- no matter how painful or dangerous it might be."

Yang couldn't tear her eyes off of her sister's semblance dashing from Grimm to Grimm. "Then what do I do? How can I be both supportive while making sure that she's safe?"

"You just have to put your faith in her, trust in her abilities, and believe that she is going to be okay. She's made it this far hasn't she?" His calm and caring voice made Yang let out a sigh.

"Yeah, she has." She smiled, but Weiss could still see the worry in her eyes. Blake walked over and put her hand in Yang's.

"Hey, we're here for her." She smiled. Weiss out her hand on Yang's shoulder, "and we're not going to let anything happen to her." Yang looked at the two of them, then turned and watched as the rest of her friends smiled and stood behind her. They were all worried about Ruby and Penny, but they found solace in their shared emotions. Everyone turned and watched as the pair were taking out Grimm after Grimm, barely making a dent in Salem's army.

"Can you fly us closer?" Nora asked, "I want to help! Ruby can't use her Silver Eyes with all those Grimm swarming around her!" Maria nodded and began circling the ship around the Grimm. Weiss, as well as everyone else with Long range weapons, began to fire at the Grimm, managing to take a few out every time they circled back around. Their morale was starting to increase, until they heard a message from the radio.

_"Do you guys see that?"_

_"How the hell is anyone supposed to fly past that?"_

_"I know. I have one of the prisoners that Ironwood requested here with me in custody. I have to find a safe place to land to turn him in."_

Everyone held their breaths. The radio echoed across the sky, getting Ruby's attention for a second. She continued to fight, but the thought of her uncle being captured was starting to make her lose focus.

_"Geez, what is he in for?"_

_"The murder of the Ace Ops Leader. He was basically General Ironwood's right hand man. Now he's gone, and this so called hunter is all that's left."_

Yang lost it.

She screamed about how he wouldn't have murded Clover. How this all has to be some sort of mistake. Her screams got Ruby's attention, though, making her unaware of the Grimm about to ram it's claw into her.

\---

Yang's shouts were quickly silenced after Penny screamed.

Everyone looked over and saw a horrific sight. Ruby's body was limp and quickly falling towards the buildings below. What Weiss thought to be rose petals coming from Ruby was actually blood spilling from the scratches on her chest. Penny quickly grabbed Ruby and flew over to the airship. Yang fell to her knees, feeling as though she were losing apart of herself along side her family. Blake went down after her, wrapping her arms around her shoulders and whispering words of comfort.

Weiss and Jaune rushed over and took Ruby out of Penny's arms, laying her on the floor while Nora rested Ruby's head on her lap, cradling her head. Everyone was quiet but quick to provide first aid to Ruby as quick as possible.

Jaune went in and began to heal her aura, when the airship shook violently. The Grimm that had attacked Ruby was coming back to finish the job. Maria barely had time to close the door before the flying Grimm stuck it's sharp claws through it. There was an audible scratching sound outside, it sounded like nails on a chalkboard, and everyone winced while it attacked the airship again. They shook once more, and alarms started blaring. The other aircrafts started to radio in, but Maria was too busy trying to land it.

"We're going down! You kids better buckle up." Her voice shook due to the vibration of the controls. They were going down and they were going down fast. Weiss's heart was pounding but she couldn't let that lose her focus. She remembered how her house was near a large plot of land, all privately owned by The Schnee Family. She also remembered how her father wouldn't be there to rat them out to the authorities. She got up from Ruby's side and shakily made her way to Maria.

Weiss held onto the seat, "Maria, I know where we can land."

\---

The landing was more of a crash than anything. Once the airship hit the ground, everyone's bodies fumbled around like rag dolls. There were a few bumps and bruises, but nothing as bad as Ruby. They pried the ship door open and all made their way past the debris and to The Schnee Manor. Weiss opened the door to the empty halls, their footsteps and panicked breaths echoing in the once lively area. Weiss tried to forget all of the parties that pressured her into becoming a prissy princess. She was more than that now, she had found her family, and now it was time to take care of them.

Weiss led them down the hall and to one of the vacant rooms. Jaune and Yang laid Ruby onto a nearby couch. She was unresponsive, so Jaune had to act fast if he was going to help Ruby. Everyone waited with baited breath, Weiss even felt a coldness in her feet from how anxious she was. Jaune finished helping Ruby heal and he stepped back, hands still at his chest, just in case he has to go back in. Ruby's breathing was steady now, but she was still somehow unresponsive. Everyone glanced at eachother, uncertain of what to do. Ren clenched his fists and Nora bit her lip. Weiss couldn't take her eyes of of Yang though.

Yang's face was pale, her jaw hung open and her eyes went unblinking. It even seemed as if she had stopped breathing. For Yang, time stood still, understandably so, since her only sister laid unconscious before her. Weiss wanted to rush over and hug Yang, to hold her in her arms and tell her that everything was going to be okay. She wanted to feel Yang's tight embrace around her, have Yang trust her so much that she allows herself to give in to the emotions that she's been repressing. She wanted to hold Yang up and be the crutch that she needed most. Is that wrong? To want to be wanted? To want to be _needed_? 

Weiss began to put a hand out for Yang, but Blake beat her to the punch. She put her arms around Yang, who eagerly reciprocated. Yang began to shake and cry from the anxiety and dread that had built up. Now it was Weiss who was repressing emotions. She couldn't let her feelings for Yang come up now, not with her relationship with Blake still going strong. And especially not with Ruby in... whatever condition this is. Nobody knew what to do. Nobody knew what to say. The only thing audible in this room filled with chills was Yang's soft sobs muffled in Blake's shoulder and Blake's sweet coos as she pet Yang's hair.

Weiss shut her eyes. This isn't about her right now- this is about Yang and Ruby. She looked over at Jaune, who had the same shocked expression on his face. She could see the tears welling in his eyes from the disbelief that he wasn't of any help. She decided to go over to him, if she couldn't help one of her friends, she could at least be helpful and comfort the other. She out a hand on Jaune's shoulder and he turned to her. She's seen him cry before, she's seen him afraid before... 

But nothing like this.

His eyebrows were slightly furrowed and he was biting his lip, she assumed to stop it from trembling. It wasn't working though, his telling lip was made more noticable below his flared nostrils and reddened eyes. And there was this look behind his eyes that she couldn't quite place. Dread? Regret? Disappointment? She was so used to his simple expressions and emotions that this moment stuck out to her. Since she wasn't able to fully comprehend what he was feeling, she guided him into a hug. He gave in, breaking down in her arms. She hadn't felt someone shake this badly before, he sobbed into her shoulder and began to apologize.

"I... I'm sorry everyone I, I just... I'm sorry I couldn't help." Everyone broke into a whirlwind of comforting Jaune and telling him how it wasn't his fault. They were all silenced by Yang.

"No. He's right. How do you find out that your semblance can help others heal faster, but you manage to fuck it up? The _one time_ we needed you to succeed the most?" She was fully facing him now, and Jaune had slowly begun to match her, yet he was unable to meet her gaze.

"I... Y-Yang I'm sorry, I know how much Ruby-"  
"No you DON'T _FUCKING_ KNOW!" 

She exploded, accidentally activating her semblance through her rage. "How would someone like _you_ know what it's like to have to raise someone- to have to look after and care for them? To risk it all for the person you care about most?! The thing is, you **don't**." She took a step towards him. Weiss and Blake instinctively got in between the two, pleading for Yang to calm down.

"You've always gotten help from someone, you've always been babied. That's why your sisters treat you like that. That's why you need your friends to feel better." She got close to him and poked his chest, "that's why Pyrrah had to take the fall, because _you_ couldn't be the one to save the day."

Everyone fell silent. Jaune took in a Shakey breath and just stared at her. Everyone did.

" **Yang.** " Blake started, she put a hand on Yang's arm but she pulled away.

"I see your track record for failing to save the girls you care about is two for two now, huh."

" **Yang!** " Blake yelled, but Weiss pushed past her.

There was a loud smack.

Yang's face was turned to the side, a look of surprise on her face. Weiss moved from her open-handed slap to clenching her fists.

"Yang. I can't _believe you_." Weiss was breathing heavily, eyes beginning to sting from the tears forming. Yang looked back at her, then to Jaune, who tried to muffle choked sobs behind shakey hands.

Yang blinked, finally coming back from her blind rage. She held out a hand.

"J... Jaune, I..." Her expression was flooded with hurt and regret. 

Jaune still couldn't look at her.

Nora and Ren rushed over to Jaune, offering him holds of comfort, but he broke away and left the room. Ren and Nora looked at Yang, both had unreadable expressions but Nora seemed angrier than Ren. They ran after Jaune, letting the door slam behind them. The remaining team RWBY look at Yang. She was staring straight ahead, seemingly lost in thought. She looked down at Weiss and gasped at the realization of her actions. With a grimace, she ran out of the room.

They watched her leave, then Weiss met Blake's gaze. It was filled with anxiety and pain.

"Weiss..." She put a hand on the couch, "what do we do..?" She looked at Weiss with pleading eyes.

"I... I'll go after her. Blake, keep Ruby company while she..." She looked over at Ruby's sleeping form, "gets her rest." Blake nodded and let out a breath to steady herself. She then looked around the room for a book to read in the meantime.

With that, Weiss left her to her own devices and went looking for Yang.


	2. Booze to Douse the Flames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss has to juggle the emotions of many to try and keep those in the Schnee household from falling apart.

Weiss walked through the halls of her former home. They seemed so much colder now, what with both Winter and her father missing from the picture, as well as Whitley and her mother nowhere to be seen. She cursed at the many doors this house held. 'What was the point of so many rooms if they weren't going to be used??' she thought to herself. She caught herself looking out the window towards the clouded night sky. It seems as though Salem had been causing chaos somewhere in Atlas, but they couldn't let that go on for too long. Every hour spent off of the battle field was an advantage for the enemy. 

She was nearing the middle of the hallway when a door slowly creaked open. She held her breath and kept the gaze on the door, waiting to see who would pop out from behind it. She moved to step forward but Whitley stopped her in her tracks. He turned to her, bags under his eyes and slightly disheveled hair. He looked like he had been crying.

"Whitley?" Concern began to pool in her stomach as she reached out a hand for her younger brother. His response, however, was to be expected. He scowled and pulled back, closing the door to his room.

"What do _you_ want?"

"I..." She looked away, but swallowed her guilt, "I know that our relationship isn't... the best, and I know that I haven't exactly been here for you through-"  
"Wasn't exactly here for me?" He glared.

"Whitley, I-"  
"No, be quiet." He put up a hand and frowned.

"You want to come help me when I'm at my lowest? To what, feed your savior complex? Is that why you became a huntress and ran away from all of your problems? Way to be a good older sister, leaving your little brother to fend for himself under the hand of our tyrannical father." He took a step towards her, putting on that oh so familiar composure that Weiss wanted to avoid.

"So eager to save people yet you couldn't even **think** about the youngest- _no_. You just had to follow the footsteps of the one that ran away, and make our father tighten the grip on those he had left. Thanks for that, by the way. Did you think that I could get away eventually? With all the shadowing he made me do? Not in a million years." He frowned again, eyebrows furrowing and fists clenching.

"Whitley, I'm sorry that I left you, I know that Winter might feel the same, but father is gone now! You don't have to be tangled in his web anymore!"

"Oh so you think that just because he's gone that I'm finally free from his chains? I wish it were that easy, sister dearest, to just up and leave the things that I had to endure because of _your **actions**_." Weiss saw his anger faulted, his lip quivering for just a second, before he put up all of his walls again. That's when Weiss realized that this whole act wasn't because he wanted to follow in their father's footsteps... it was a coping mechanism.

Weiss gasped, raising a hand to her mouth, "he took it out on you..."

"He took everything out on me, but you were just too busy to notice."

"Whitley-" she reached out and gave him a hug, squeezing him to ask for forgiveness. He was taken aback, but only for a moment. Once the moment of surprise passed he pushed out of the hug.

"STOP! Don't try to fix me now." He shook his head then turned away from her, hastily walking down the hall. 

Weiss was left there, arms still out before her. She looked down at her hands... they were trembling. Was she really that blinded by freedom to notice her own brother's suffering?

A hand entered her own, it's metallic fingers squeezing reassurance into her palm. She looked up to see Yang, with a sympathetic look on her face. Tears began to sting at the corners of Weiss's eyes again, so she rushed to cover them. Yang put an arm around her and guided her to the room that she had been in the entire time.

Weiss rushed into the candle lit room and sat on the chaise. She leaned into the armrest and let out a quiet cry. Yang sat besides her, placing a hand on Weiss's back. She turned to look at her, meeting her gaze, and began to cry. Yang opened her arms and held Weiss, who just cried and clutched onto Yang's jacket. They sat in silence, but Weiss was able to let it all out.

\---

"Thank you for letting me cry like that." Weiss finally pulled away, wiping her slightly swollen pink eyes.

Yang shrugged, "the least I could do, I mean you did come out here looking for me and all." Weiss nodded and Yang stood up.

"Yeah, and I'm glad I found you. Are you okay?" She watched Yang walk to the desk that held the candle and sit in the chair behind it. She moved the candle aside and brought up a half finished wine glass from beneath the desk. Yang cleared her throat, not wanting to meet her gaze.

"Yang..?" Weiss got up, walking over and sitting on the cushion of the chaise that was closer to the desk. She leaned and rested her arms on the desk, looking up at Yang.

Yang let out a bitter chuckle, "Our crew needs an angsty drunk. I decided that, since Uncle Qrow isn't here, I'd be the one to fill in his shoes..." 

She grabbed the glass from the edge of the desk, "or should I say, fill up his glass?" She finally looked at Weiss and smirked, trying to make light of the situation, but it failed. All Weiss did was stare back up at her, concern filling her expression.

Yang grumbled, "don't look at me like that..." and looked away from her. She took the glass of wine and began to drink, but was met with Weiss's gentle hand on her wrist. She looked over at her again, realizing that she was now leaning over her. Yang didn't know if it was because of their position, or because of the alcohol, but she was feeling rather warm at the moment.

"Yang... You don't have to drink. Please..." She guided Yang's hand back towards the desk, making here let go of the glass and hold onto her hands. Weiss sat on the desk, holding Yang's hand and looking down at her. Yang felt something melt inside of her and her shoulders relaxed.

She looked away from Weiss, "Fine. I won't drink... Those are the footsteps I want to avoid." She looked back up at Weiss, who was already smiling back at her. Yang felt her breath hitch as she studied Weiss's form. Her flushed smiling face illuminated by the glow of the candle, her gentle warm hands holding onto her own, her soft slender legs perched upon the table. Yang hadn't realized that her breaths had gotten quicker. Yang hadn't realized that Weiss was staring. She looked back up at her and found that her breaths had quickened too. Yang couldn't help but want to hold Weiss's face in her hands, so she stood up. And like a dog, she followed the guiding leash of booze, positioning herself between Weiss's legs as she sat on the desk. The sound of Weiss's breath hitching sent shivers down Yang's body. 

Yang put her robot hand on the desk next to Weiss's hip, letting her thumb wander closer and closer to touching her skirt. Yang used her other hand to cup Weiss's face, who leaned into the touch. Yang felt her eyelids lower as she looked down at Weiss. She could practically feel the heat radiating from her blushing body. She was basically panting, softly though, to hide her eagerness. This fed into Yang's libido and overall drunken confidence. Yang had only drunken half of the wine bottle, but she had already been swept away by it's affects. She felt herself lean forward, looking down at Weiss's waiting lips. She felt their breaths merge the closer she got, but she also saw Weiss shut her eyes.

Yang stopped herself. This was wrong. She was with Blake, she couldn't cheat on her like that. Yang sighed and pulled away from Weiss, who was trying to calm herself down. Yang turned her body so that she was able to look at the light from the dancing flame, but still able to see Weiss clutching her heart.

"I... I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that." Yang sighed and began to walk towards the door, "I better find Blake, I've worried her enough." Weiss jumped off of the table and rushed after her. She didn't know which hand to grab, her human one, showing Yang's warmth and softness in those secret tender moments, or her metallic one, symbolizing her strength and durability throughout it all. But she needed to feel that warmth again, so she reached out and grabbed Yang's human hand, turning her around and gaining her attention. 

Weiss was breathing heavily, and she was still flustered. She had so much she wanted to say, so much running through her mind, but nothing came out. All she could manage was holding Yang's hand over her racing heart, keeping it in place with both of her hands. She looked up at Yang, whose look of surprise rivaled Weiss's look of yearning, of desire, of lust. But after a moment, she regained her composure and met Yang's hand go. She looked away from her and kept her arms at her sides. Yang slowly retracted her arm, mouth still slightly parted and looking at Weiss. She took a breath in and closed her fingers into a soft fist, turning away from Weiss once again and walking over to the door. Weiss couldn't even look up, all she did was listen to Yang's footsteps leave the room, and the door closing behind her.

Weiss let out the breath that she didn't know she was holding and plopped onto the chaise besides her. She put a hand on her head and replayed the previous moments in her mind over and over again. She swallowed, realizing that she needed water to help her calm down. She stood up and grabbed the candle from the desk, taking it with her out the room, and down the hall towards the kitchen.

\---

The clacking of Weiss's boots echoed past the reaches of her candle light. She had placed it on the tray of waters that she had gathered for the rest of her team. That reminds her, she has to go look for the others. They can't be divided in a time like this. She opened the door and stepped into the room that her teammates were in. She noticed that Blake was sitting in a chair, holding and petting Yang who was sitting on the floor before her. Yang silently rested her head on Blake's lap, facing away from the door. Weiss looked back to Blake and met her gaze. Blake sighed and continued to silently comfort Yang.

Weiss walked towards a nearby coffee table and set the tray of waters down. She grabbed two glasses and walked over to the two of them, Blake grabbing both glasses from her and smiling a thanks. She softly got Yang's attention and gave her the glass of water, which she drank without turning to look in Weiss's direction. Weiss couldn't show that it was getting to her, so she turned and sat on the chair across the coffee table. Team RWBY sat in a C, Blake and Yang being across from Weiss, and Ruby being the connecting line. Weiss had realized that Yang went from looking at the floor, then at Ruby, then back at the floor. 

Weiss shot Blake a look, asking her if she should say anything. Blake shook her head and took another sip of water. Weiss did the same, to try and ease the awkwardness of it all. Then, Yang spoke.

"Where's Jaune?"

The two remaining girls tensed as Yang waited for a reply, creating little circles in the carpet with her finger. Weiss opened her mouth to speak, but she didn't know what to say.

"Uh..."  
"We don't know where they went." Blake spoke, taking a bit of the weight from Weiss's shoulders. "Then again, we haven't exactly went out to look for them yet."

There was another moment of silence.

"Then we should go look for them." Yang went to stand, but Blake stopped her.

"No, you stay here and look after Ruby. She could wake up any minute now." Blake looked up at Weiss, "I'll just go with Weiss to look for them." 

Weiss felt the anxiety start to burn in her gut, but she nodded in agreement and stood up. Blake let Yang take her head off of her lap and stood.

"Don't worry, we'll be quick." She smiled at Yang, who weakly smiled back. Yang watched Blake walk towards the door, then looked at Weiss through the side of her eyes. Weiss averted her eyes and quickly followed after Blake, closing the door shut behind them.

The two girls walked down the empty hall. Everything was tinted with a dull grey thanks to the clouds Salem caused. They walked in silence, Blake seemingly unaware of Weiss's brewing anxiety. They kept their gazes forward, listening for chatter from behind the doors. 

"Weiss." Blake spoke, breaking the silence but increasing the tension in Weiss's gut.

"Yes?" She was good at hiding her emotions, good at composing herself, but she prayed to the Gods that Blake couldn't hear her heartbeat.

"What happened?" She turned her head to look at Weiss but still walked forward. Weiss instinctively turned her head towards the ground away from Blake.

"Well..." She started, clutching a hand full of her skirt, "I found her drinking." She looked up at Blake, who inhaled deeply, processing the information. "She was halfway through the bottle when I got to the room."

"Gods..." She looked down and put a hand to her mouth, "no wonder she smelled funny. I can't believe I couldn't place it, after being around Qrow for so long..." Blake sighed, and Weiss watched her, not knowing if she should mention everything that happened or if she should leave that for Yang to discuss. 

She decided against it and just continued walking, her anxiety settling in her stomach.

"Yeah, it was shocking to see. But I'm glad that she went for you." Weiss smiled, feeling her heart twist in her chest. Blake smiled back and nodded. How could Weiss think to destroy such a nice and loving relationship? She wasn't about to become a homewrecker, not with Salem around. They turned the corner of the hall and finally heard distant chatter. Blake's ears perked up and they hurried down the hall. They found the room that their friends were in and lightly knocked on the door. 

First silence fell, then the sound of someone walking towards the door was heard. Nora turned the knob and opened the door to look out at them.

"Yeah? What do you want?" She asked, looking like she had just finished crying. 

"We wanted to check up on Jaune... see if he was okay." Blake said while trying to look into the room. Weiss's view was blocked by Nora, since she was furthest from the opening, but Nora nodded and let them into the room. 

The two of them walked in and saw Jaune hunched over, resting his head on his hands and his elbows on his legs. In front of him was Ren, who seemed to have made them all tea at some point during the night. Weiss walked over and sat besides Jaune, placing a hand on his back.

"How are you feeling?" She spoke softly, wanting to keep the situation as peaceful as possible. 

"I," he took a deep breath, "feel better. I talked to Ren and Nora about it and realized that she said a lot of those things both to hurt me and because she was hurting. I was just unlucky enough to become her target, but..." He clenched his jaw and Ren put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"It still stung... a lot. And I'm going to have to process these feelings and heal from them, because she made me realize some stuff about myself... no matter how much I didn't wanna accept it." He kept his breathing steady, making sure his emotions didn't get the better of him.

He turned to Weiss, "where is she?"

"She's in another room down the hall. Come on," she pat his back, "we'll take you to her." She stood up and smiled down at Jaune, who smiled and stood up as well. Then they all made their way out the door and down the hall.

\---

They finally made it to the door where Yang was, all silently standing together. Everyone looked at Jaune, who was looking at the doorknob. He closed his eyes and took a breath.

"Okay, I'm going in." He smiled as reassurance and stepped into the room. Everyone else stayed behind, knowing that this was a conversation only to be held by those two.

Yang heard someone enter the room, but she didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

"Hey, Yang..." Jaune's awkwardness lathered both the words that he spoke and the steps that he took. This fact only made Yang more regretful. She stood up and turned to him, feeling like her stomach was twisting into knots.

"Jaune... I'm sorry."

"Yeah," he rubbed his neck, "I know."

"No, honestly. I went too far. I was angry and hurt and stepped waaay out of line. I know that I hurt you and I'm sorry."

Jaune looked away and clutched his arm, "yeah... I mean it hurt, of course, but you also sort of made me realize some things about myself. I've realized that I haven't done as much as you guys have! I feel like I'm barely pulling my weight..."

"No Jaune!" Yang went over and put her hands on his shoulders, "you're an important and valuable part of this team! Just because it seems like the work you're doing isn't big doesn't mean that that's the case! We need you Jaune, we depend on you. Because we know through thick and thin you'll be there for us. You're more than what you give!" Jaune began to tear up.

"You're our friend." Yang said, pulling Jaune into a hug. They both fell into a jumble of words, Jaune repeating "it's okay" and "thank you" while Yang repeated "I'm sorry" and "I'll never do it again". After a moment, the rest of their friends opened the door and stepped inside. They were all relieved to see that everything was well again. They broke the hug and Jaune rubbed his eyes, giving them a little laugh.

"I still feel bad that I couldn't help Ruby enough... I don't know why she hasn't woken up yet? It wasn't like this when it happened to Weiss." Weiss put a hand to her stomach. She looked up at Jaune but noticed that Yang had clenched her jaw.

Blake stepped forward, "maybe it's because you didn't do it right away? I mean, Weiss was healed while on stable ground while Ruby had to be stabilized in a crashing airship." Everyone agreed, then looked over at Ruby. Worry began to fill the room once more. Weiss shook thoughts of 'what if she doesn't wake up?' and 'what if this is it?' out of her mind. Now wasn't a time for negativity. Not with everything going on.

And just like that, everyone's attention was taken by movement from the couch. Ruby was finally waking up.


	3. Plucking of Feathers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team RWBY, team JNR, and Penny have to find Qrow and Oscar in order to stop Salem before it's too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is mature for a reason,,, Content Warning just in case the label for graphic depictions of violence wasn't enough tho uwu

The room was silent for a moment. Ruby had finally woken up. Then, in an instant, the room roared with cries and screams of joy, all thankful that Ruby was alive. Yang basically jumped on her sister, rubbing her head and cooing. Jaune surrounded the two, muttering incoherent apologies and thanks. Everyone surrounded the three, all overjoyed.

Blake cleared her throat, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. She spoke.

"Now everyone, I know that we're all glad that Ruby is finally awake, but we should give her her space. She did just have a near death experience after all." They all laughed awkwardly while pulling away from Ruby, who was still somewhat disoriented. She looked at everyone with a puzzled look.

"What happened?" She scratched her head. Yang knelt besides her.

"A Grimm caught you off guard and scratched your chest. It went pretty deep but Jaune was able to heal you in time, though your clothes and chest are still gonna be reminders of that incident." Ruby put a hand up to her chest and sighed.

"I guess I'll have to be more careful from now on."

"From now on?" Yang stood up quickly. Everyone knew what was coming. "After what just happened, you think you're gonna go back out there?"

"Of course I am, Yang! I can't just let Atlas be attacked and do nothing!!"

"You _just_ recovered and you're already running back out there?!"

"Ićm not reckless enough to just run head first into Salem's claws. I have a plan!! Or at least, part of a plan..." She laughed nervously. Yang was audibly frustrated and turned from her.

"Fine. I know I can't stop you, so finish your plan so we can get this over with." She grumbled before leaving the room once more. Weiss watched her leave, her heart telling her to follow her but her feet keeping her in place. All she could do was squeeze her skirt in her hands. Jaune sat on the couch besides Ruby, still sort of bewildered that she didn't die under his care but eager to talk to her.

"Okay Ruby, there's a lot we've missed since your uh,, decommission from battle. But that's okay! Now we regroup and figure out our next steps." He raised his fists like he was giving a pep talk.

"Right," Ruby did the same, "we got this! With my silver eyes and Penny's-" she looked around the room.

"Where's Penny?" And as soon as her name left Ruby's mouth, Penny barged into the room. Shock and excitement went across her face as she flew towards Ruby, embracing her on impact. Penny squealed about how glad she was that Ruby was okay and that she was sorry she let the Grimm get her. Ruby tried her best to calm her down, but like a switch, Penny pulled back and looked at Ruby.

"Now that you're all better, do you have a plan to go back out there??"

"Yes, we can't fight her head on, so we'll need to take out the Grimm that surround her."

Nora chimed in, slapping her fist into her hand, "Defeat them to get to the final boss!" 

Ruby smirked, "Exactly."

"But was that not what we were doing before?" Penny tilted her head, making Ruby look down in thought.

"Yes, but that was just you and me. This time," she looked up at her friends, "we'll have reinforcements."

\---

Weiss was tasked with getting Ruby a new outfit, since her top was nearly ripped to shreds. She actually wondered if she had anything red to fit Ruby's aesthetic. As she was walking to her room, she stumbled across her mother, a semi neutral look on her face. Her expression changed when she saw Weiss, however, and she stepped towards her.

"Weiss. I have something to tell you."

"If it's about Whitley, I already know."

"No. Well, yes, Whitley has started to confide his true feelings to me, and I am thankful that he is able to do that despite..." She looked down at the glass in her hand. "Anyways, that's besides the point. I am going to take care of Whitley, I'll need your help obviously. But there's someone else in here that needs your help."

Weiss was confused. Didn't she just name two people who needed her help? Who was the third.

"Who..?" She thought about her friends. Ruby was too obvious a choice, and everyone else was just fine on their own. That left...

"Your friend, Yang."  
"Oh Gods, Yang?"

They came to the same thought at the same time, Weiss's face of realization and shock rivaled by her mother's face of sympathy and familiarity.

"She is having a difficult time, which is justified seeing everything going on. But, I fear that she is headed down a path similar to my own."

"And similar to that of her uncle..." Weiss looked away, clenching a fist. She thought that Yang would just get over drinking, since it was assumed her first time consuming alcohol. Or was it her first time? Yang didn't seem like much of a lightweight when Weiss found her, but she was tipsy due to the amount of wine she drank. Had Yang turned to alcohol before?

She looked back up at her mother, who had been watching her the entire time. "Do you know where she is?" 

Her mother nodded and pointed towards the doors to her study, the doors to a room that held the most alcohol. Weiss nodded a silent thank you and briskly walked towards the room. She opened it to see Yang, seemingly on her third bottle of rum. It seemed as though her father's alcohol was settled with her mother's. 

Yang jumped at the sight of Weiss, either because she was caught red handed, or because of the fact that they would have a repeat of what happened last time.

"W-Weiss!" She tried to hide the alcohol but it was too late. Weiss stomped over to the table, closing the lid of the bottle and taking away the glass.

"Yang, is this what you want to do to yourself? Have to rely on substances for solace??"

"Well I'm feeling a little better now, so I think it's working." Weiss sighed and nearly slammed the bottle back behind the glass door that covered it. She turned back to Yang, who had her hands up, as if Weiss were the one that needed to be handled.

"Please Yang, I am asking as a friend, don't go down this path!"

"Why not? It runs in my family, so this habit is already in my blood. Plus it's not like I'm gonna get lost throughout this, what with my uncle's past and your mother's knowledge. She sure does know her stuff."

"Don't say that." Through gritted teeth, Weiss walked over to Yang once more. "Your little sister is in the other room, getting ready to defeat our biggest villain, while you isolate and succumb to your own demons. Yang," she knelt before her, cupping her hands in her own, "I'm scared. Both of what's to come and of what you're starting to do to yourself. You and I both know what'll happen if you continue."

Yang looked away, biting her lip at the fact of the matter. She was scared too, scared of letting Ruby get hurt, scared of ending up like her uncle. She truly felt like she was destined to be this way though, like she had tainted blood. She looked back at Weiss, who had a pleading, yet understanding look on her face. Yang exhaled, guilt beginning to fill the space where the warmth and fuzziness of alcohol once sat.

"Okay. I'm sorry- but please, don't tell Ruby... I don't want this to take her head out of beating Salem. I don't want to be another fatal distraction..." She looked down. Weiss stood up and put a hand on Yang's face, gaining her attention.

"Your secret is safe with me, for now. You will have to tell her eventually, but until then," she took her hand off her face and helped Yang stand, "you're going to help me find her a new outfit. We can't have her going out in rags!" She smiled. Yang felt relief wash over her as she stood by Weiss. She welcomed the warmth and comfort that Weiss brought to her, welcomed her stern yet understanding side, welcomed her touch.

Weiss motioned for Yang to follow her, which she did. They walked to Weiss's room and headed straight for her clothes. Scouring for something that suited Ruby, they finally landed on a silk white button up shirt. Satisfied with their find, they made their way back to Ruby.

\---

The two walked into the lively room, greeting everyone and making their way to Ruby, who sat besides Blake on the couch. Ruby loved the shirt, holding it's texture in her hands and being in awe. Blake, on the other hand, was looking at Yang. She could smell the lingering stench of booze, and was saddened by the fact that her very own girlfriend had to hide her demons from her. She hated having to find out the bad things after they happened.

Ruby put on her new shirt and her semi cut vest. When they gave her a puzzled look, she shrugged and said it made her look cooler. Sharing a laugh, they sat around Ruby, waiting to be filled in on the plan.

"Okay, so here's what we're gonna do. Team JNR will look for Oscar, since he should still be back at the Atlas tower. Team RWBY is going to look for Uncle Qrow, because he'll obviously be where Ironwood is. But since we're going after him, we're gonna have to be prepared to run into the remaining Ace Ops. Penny is gonna go with Team JNR, just in case they find trouble before they find Oscar."

"Oof, a round two with the Ace Ops?" Yang punched her fists together, "count me in." She smirked. Ruby smiled and stood up, finished lacing her boots and ready to go.

"This won't be easy, but Operation Owl will help us strengthen our forces-"

"Wait wait wait," Weiss interrupted, "Operation Owl??"

"Yeah! Because Oscar has Ozpin, who is very knowledgeable, and Qrow like the bird, which has feathers. Mix them both together and bam! Operation Owl." Ruby crossed her arms proudly while Weiss shook her head.

"Are you sure your brain wasn't damaged in the fall? Because I'm sure you could've come up with something better than that." Ruby laughed, the four of them wishing to stay in this light-hearted moment, but the sigh of their silver eyed warrior snuffed that idea out.

"It's okay, I'll come up with a better operation name when we go to fight Salem." She put a thumbs up, then turned towards the door, motioning for everyone to follow her out.

They followed her down the corridor and towards the main entrance, where Maria and Pietro waited.

"Ah Ruby, I knew it would take more than a measly Grimm attack to take you out." Maria smiled.

Pietro let out a little chuckle then looked at Ruby, "you had us worried! But I now realize how strong you are. You and Penny are our most prized pieces in this game of chess against Salem, so we'll need to be more careful moving forward."

"Right. We need to get back to the Atlas tower, Qrow and Oscar are still back there and we need as much allies as possible if we have a chance against Salem."

Maria nodded and motioned for the group to follow her. Pietro opted to stay behind, since he is of more use on the ground than in the air.

"But, in my absence, you can have these." He brought out small devices that connected to each of their scrolls. "These little antenna will help you stay connected with eachother while staying under the radar of Ironwood. They can't be hacked or hijacked, but you will lose connection if the antenna is disconnected from your scroll."

Everyone nodded their thanks and Pietro waved them on their way.

"Isn't he the best." Penny remarked while they caught up to Maria. She was on the side of The Schnee Manor, overlooking several vehicles that Weiss's father left behind.

"We won't have the advantage of the air," Maria opened the door to the closest vehicle, "but we will get there quickly. And time is something we don't have a lot of."

Everyone scrambled into the car and they were off. Ruby's rest lasted throughout the night, so the sight of the sun rising gave them hope- even if it was semi shaded by Salem's Grimm.

As the drove through the city, they saw that she had sent out Grimm to reek havoc on the citizens, though there surprisingly wasn't as many Grimm as they expected. Had Ironwood's warning helped the citizens of Atlas gather their emotions before she attacked? That was their only conclusion while taking out each and every Grimm they ran into.

\---

They finally made it to the Atlas tower, ridding the streets of Grimm took them far longer than they'd like to accept, but they were finally there. Most guards or inhabitants of the tower were either on the higher levels to try and stop the Grimm, or they were dispatched somewhere else. They all were just thankful that no one was around to stop them.

They said farewell to Maria, who thought it better to stay outside as the get away driver instead of running alongside the kids on the battlefield. They turned from her and made their way into the tower.

It was far larger than they wanted, but Penny helped guide them to where they needed to go. She gave Ruby the directions to get to one of two areas where they could be holding Qrow while she took team JNR with her to find Oscar. Wishing one another good luck, they went their seperate ways.

"Okay, so Penny gave me two destinations where Qrow could be, either in a private holding cell, or in Ironwood's office." Ruby said while the group ran in the direction of the two spots. They were in the same direction, but were down two different hallways.

"Weiss," she continued, "you and Yang check on Ironwood. Blake and I will check that private holding cell. A message will be sent as soon as he's found."

"Got it." They said in unison while going towards the fork in the hallway. Ruby and Blake turned down the left hallway while Weiss and Yang kept running straight. Once they saw Ironwood's office in the distance, they slowed to a stop, Yang taking the lead as they stealthily walked towards the slightly open doors.

Weiss looked up at Yang, "are you sure you're ready to fight?"

"Always ready." She scoffed, "the stakes of this situation really help to sober a gal up." The pair made it to the doors, Yang putting her arm out to try and keep Weiss behind her, but she ducked under it. Yang felt Weiss get close to her as they looked into the door.

They were met with a gruesome sight. 

Harriet stood above a bloody and bound Qrow, the two of them being surrounded by the remaining Ace Ops and Ironwood. Harriet had an expression of pain and anger on her face as she threw multiple punches and a kick at Qrow's tied up body. Each landed with a sickening thud, accompanied by Qrow groaning in agony. Ironwood stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her away from the defenseless Qrow.

"Okay Harriet, that's enough." He said firmly, moving his hand from her shoulder to resting it at his side. He looked at Qrow with a pitiful expression.

"But he killed clover!" Harriet said through heavy breaths, "He deserves to suffer for what he did!!" She wiped the sweat and blood off of her face, only to go back and throw another punch. 

"I know him better than all of you, and I've known him longer than all of you, so I know for a _fact_ that he didn't kill Clover." 

"Then what about Clover's blood on his weapon, huh? How do you explain that?!" Harriet's movements were more angry and exaggerated compared to Ironwood's. They wondered how he would've even let them beat Qrow to that extent, they were friends.

"Wasn't there a serial murderer on that ship, that just so happens to be on the run right now?" he turned to her and she faultered.

"W-Well yeah, but-" she looked at the floor, as if searching for a comeback at their feet.

"But nothing, Qrow wouldn't kill another human being, especially one that he had grown so close to." He walked over to Qrow, who's head was bowed and bloody.

"He would do what he could to protect the people he cared about. Isn't that right Qrow." he tilted Qrow's chin to make him meet his gaze. All Qrow had left in him were heavy breaths and one working eye.

"James..." Qrow spoke through chapped and bloodied lips. From where the girls were, they couldn't see the extent of his injuries, which they were glad for, but they did see his face covered in sweat and blood, the bruises deeply contrasting his pale skin. They knew that his condition would only worsen while in Ironwood's custodym

"Where are they Qrow." He spoke firmly again, asserting his question in Qrow's mind.

"James, I already told you, I don't know! we got seperated, remember?" Ironwood dropped Qrow's head from his grasp and turned away from him. Qrow used what little strength he had left to look up at him once more. "How could I possibly know where they went?"

Ironwood looked back at Qrow, who was basically pleading with him to trust him again, to believe him again, but both Qrow's hopes and his consciousness were knocked out of him by a swift punch from the General himself. Ironwood's grunt of anger, followed by the sound of Qrow's body and the chair that he was in hitting the floor, echoed in the room and down the hall, right through the door where Weiss and Yang stood. Yang was shaking from her anger, gritted teeth and clenched fists- ready to fight her uncle's battle. Weiss was shaking too, but she did her best to quell her anxiety and ease Yang's anger.

Ironwood sighed and cleaned his fist on his handkerchief, "Get him to the infirmary. It was reckless of me to let him get beaten to that point, but we'll make use of him once he's awake." Harriet and Marrow went and picked up Qrow's body, carrying him towards the door. Weiss took Yang and forced her behind a wall by the door, out of sight from the two Ace Ops.

Elm watched them leave, then looked over at Ironwood, "But General Ironwood, what about those pesky kids?" He walked towards his desk, looking up at her with a matter-of-fact look on his face.

"Oh there's no doubt in my mind that they'll come looking for him. I just wished we didn't have to resort to such a _violent_ outcome." He sat back in his chair and continued to talk to Vine and Elm, but the girls couldn't make out what he was saying through the joined ringing in each of their ears. The shock from seeing someone they cared about be beaten to a pulp by someone they once considered an ally was causing cracks in their reality.

Yang shook herself out of it and brought out her scroll, and through gritted teeth she called Ruby.

_"Hello, Yang? Did you guys find Qrow?"_

"Oh we found him alright, we found him being **beaten** by Ironwood and his goons."

 _"Wh... What..? Ironwood had the Ace Ops beat Qrow?!"_ Blake's audible gasp was heard through the scroll, then the sound of running came next.

_"Yang, we're coming to your location."_

"Don't bother, we're gonna tail the two assholes who are taking Qrow to the infirmary and teach them a well _deserved **lesson**_." Yang hung up and turned to Weiss. Weiss was slightly taken aback at the pure rage and hatred that festered in Yang's expression, but she wasn't one to speak on that.

"Let's go." Yang turned and began going after them. Weiss nodded and followed her. The two of them being quick but stealthy while gaining on Harriet and Marrow.

"Bleh," Marrow pushed air out of his nose, then wiped it with a handkerchief, "all this blood is messing with my nose." He stuffed it back into his coat pocket and continued to walk with Qrow's arm around his shoulders. Harriet held Qrow's other arm around her shoulders, holding him up between them. Their grasp on him was solid, but his feet still dragged on the floor as they walked. 

Harriet scoffed, "So technically you're useless now."

"No! I'm still a great fighter!! I just can't smell if any enemies are nearby..." He looked away.

"Yeah that's a good thing to be dealing with while we're supposed to keep an eye out for those kids we trained."

"Oh, you mean team RWBY?"

"You called?" Yang's voice rang firm through the call. Harriet and Marrow looked at them over their shoulders. Harriet's expression turned to anger while Marrow's became more worried.

"Oh great. Right when we needed your keen sense of smell most."

"Hey, I'm not the one that beat the prisoner to a bloody pulp!"

"Yeah, but you still did nothing to stop it." Weiss stepped forward, her own anger and resentment starting to fuel her actions. Harriet scoffed and dropped Qrow's weight off of herself, making Marrow stumble to hold both himself and Qrow up.

"Aww what, did I make you two _angry_?" She taunted, making her actions annoyingly exaggerated, "Are you sad to see your traitor uncle get what he _deserved_?" She turned back spat at Qrow, who was being laid against the wall by Marrow. She was met with a swift punch to the face, knocking her back a foot or two. Marrow cringed at the sound of Harriet's body hitting the floor

He turned back to the girls, Yang walking towards Harriet while Weiss was staring daggers at him. He put his hands up in defense and tried to say something, but nothing came out.

Weiss brought out her rapier and pointed it towards Marrow, sparking an unspoken battle between the two of them. Marrow turned to look back at Harriet, who started to get back up but was punched back down by Yang.

"W-Weiss," his voice shuttered, "c'mon, we... we already had this battle! Can't we... uh, just put our weapons down and talk this out?"

Weiss held her stance, "You didn't do much talking with Qrow, so why should you get the privilege of my words?" His ears and tail fell at the sound of her glyphs whirring around him. He looked up and saw them surrounding him, so he leaped towards Weiss, weapon drawn.

"I didn't wanna do this, but you've forced my hand." He swung, Weiss dodging just in time. She sent a barrage of ice shards and flame balls towards him. He dodged them as he came at her again. She raised her rapier to summon more glyph but was stopped.

"Stay!" He snapped his fingers, successfully keeping Weiss in place. He walked over to her with furrowed brows, he wasn't angry however. His expression was more of concern than anything.

"Weiss, please. Get you and your friends out of here, I don't want to fight." He pleaded with her, but Weiss kept her glare directed towards him, then looked over at Harriet and Yang. He noticed this and followed her gaze, realizing that Harriet was being beaten behind him.

With a gasp, he yelled "Stay!" and snapped his fingers at Yang, catching her mid punch. Harriet coughed, barely managing to sit up.

"About fucking time." She glared at him as she wiped blood from her lip.

"Sorry, I was _kinda busy_ -" he was interrupted by a blow to the back of the head. Marrow's now unconscious body fell with a sigh as Yang was released from his semblance.

Weiss watched Yang hunched over Harriet, delivering blow after blow to the woman on the floor.

"Yang!" Weiss shouted, trying to get her attention. Yang didn't budge, so it was up to Weiss to check on Qrow. She ran over to his body, clenching her jaw at the state of his body. There were bumps and bruises everywhere. She knew the job would be gruesome- but nothing like this.

She turned once more to call to Yang, when three things happened simultaneously.

Ruby and Blake rounding the corner and seeing the scene before them, Weiss making eye contact with Harriet and yelling Yang's name, and Yang delivering a devastating punch to Harriet's knee, causing a sickening crunch to echo throughout the hall. Harriet began to scream in pain, curling around her now broken knee. Yang stood, fists at her sides and looking down at Harriet, finally satisfied. Blake and Ruby stood shocked, both covering their mouths at the sight. Weiss felt her legs give out from under her, good thing she was crouching. Harriet began to scream for Ironwood and the others.

Yang turned to the rest of them, a blank look on her face. She maintained eye contact with all of them while walking over to Weiss and Qrow. Without a word, she picked Qrow up and began to walk down the hall that Ruby and Blake came from. The rest of her team were still in shock, looking at each other and at Harriet.

Through gritted teeth and a deadly glare, she both threatened them about how they'll live to regret that, and calling General Ironwood to her position. They heard a click down the hall and realized Ironwood was there, face full of apathy and a finger on the trigger.

Everything happened both in slow motion and all at once.

Ironwood shot at Weiss at the exact time she made a glyph to protect herself. Luckily, an ice shard emerged from the glyph and took the bullet for her, but she wasn't gonna wait around to see her luck run out. She summoned multiple glyphs and shot various things at Ironwood, but she was already turning the corner and down the hall by the time he loaded his second bullet.

Weiss watched Blake help Yang carry Qrow and they all ran for their lives.


	4. Splinters of a Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can the team successfully recover from the seemingly shattered relationships between allies?

Everything was a blur.

Weiss couldn't even remember meeting up with Jaune and the rest of them. They somehow found Robyn Hill while looking for Oscar. Everyone scrambled into an unknown room and locked the door behind them. They seem to be bringing bodies into rooms a lot recently.

They laid Qrow on the ground and Jaune sat on his knees besides him. He was still alive, just completely unconscious. Jaune went to work and began to help Qrow heal. The rest of them began to plot those next moves.

"We- We- We- can't face him... He tried to shoot us!!" Ruby bit her lip.

"Wait... Ironwood tried to shoot you guys?" Jaune asked, but it fell on deaf ears.

"Yeah but only because Yang broke Harriet's leg." Blake stated, crossing her arms and looking at the ground.

"WHAT?!" Jaune looked up, but refocused on helping Qrow heal after team RWBY all looked down at him at once.

"Knee. I broke her knee. She won't be chasing after us for a while." Yang's tone was nonchalant, which rubbed Blake the wrong way.

"Is this a joke to you?"  
"No of course it's not."  
"Will you two **_quit it_**!" Ruby snapped. "We are in the middle of a war between two sides that **both** want us dead. What's done is done. We have to focus on what we're going to do right now."

"She's right," Weiss chimed in, "Qrow is in no position to fight and we're in enemy territory. Things aren't looking too good for us." She clutched her skirt again, anxiety beginning to crawl its way up her feet. "But Maria is still outside, all we have to do is make it to her and we'll be okay."

"But what about Ironwood?" Nora asked.

"Yeah, and what about the Grimm? They must've been drawn to all the negative emotion from the fights you all had." Ren added.

"Then we better get going then." Jaune said, finished with Qrow and standing up. Qrow wasn't awake yet, which was expected, since Jaune didn't get to him as soon as he sustained all of his injuries. That plus the fact that he was knocked unconscious by Ironwood. Jaune and Yang picked Qrow up and everyone made their way out the room.

Everyone was on high alert while running down the hall. Anything and everything that could show up would most likely be against them. Weiss still felt the anxiety in the pit of her stomach though. Qrow is with them, and he said himself that he brings bad luck. She didn't like how the odds were stacked against them. They walked down the stairs towards the next level, but realized that multiple Grimm were already making their way up towards them.

Jaune and Yang dipped into the open door, followed by the rest of them. Ren closed the door and used his semblance to mask everyone's emotions. They fell silent as they heard the Grimm growl and scrape past their floor towards the one above them- towards Ironwood.

Jaune and Ruby exchanged looks, then motioned for Penny to come over.

"Penny, you're stronger than all of us. We need you to take Qrow down to Maria. She can keep him safe til he wakes up." Ruby instructed while Penny wrapped her arms around Qrow.

"Ey Ey, Captain!" She turned towards a nearby window and used her weapons to cut a hole in it, successfully flying through and out of sight. Ruby turned back to the others and looked up at Jaune, who nodded.

"Okay, I know this is gonna sound stupid, but we can't just let Ironwood and the rest of the Ace Ops be killed by Grimm." Jaune reasoned, looking at faces who didn't quite agree.

"Did you _see_ what they did to Qrow? Why shouldn't we let them become Grimm grub." Yang crossed her arms.

"Because then we won't be any better than them." Blake stated, becoming more irritated by the minute.

"Blake is right." Ruby put her foot down, "we have to go back."

"But Ruby-"  
"No buts, Yang. We're doing this. You can take your frustrations out on the Grimm." And with that, they all followed Ruby and Jaune back up the stairs.

\---

Reaching the top of the stairs, they didn't even have to open the door- since it had been torn off of it's hinges. There were scratches and scuff marks all across the hallway, all leading in the same direction. They all followed the path of the Grimm's destruction, seeing the hallway that Harriet was previously in have bloody smudges on the floor and partially on the walls. There were no remains, but the kids were preparing for the worst.

Blake was able to see further down the now darkened hallway, pointing out around twenty Beowolves & Sabyrs clustering around Ironwood's doors. The sounds of claws scraping against the doors made them cringe, but they readied their weapons and stealthily made their way over to them. Ren used his semblance to mask everyone once again, so they could get as close as possible before being spotted.

At about six feet away, a Beowolf sniffed the air and turned to the group, growling and readying it's claws for battle. It let out a yell, alarming the rest of the Grimm of their presence. A majority of them turned and rushed at the kids, though five Grimm still stayed back and tried their best to break the doors down.

"Get ready everyone!!" Ruby screamed, looking back at Jaune, who nodded. He put his shield up and strengthened his stance, leading Ruby to run to him and use his shield to propel herself towards the Grimm hoard. She used her semblance to close the distance, having her scythe open during her spin, so that she could slice the Grimm multiple times in one go. Blake and Ren ran towards the Grimm, shooting and slicing at them with every step. Ren leaped into the hoard and took out a Sabyr, but didn't realize a Beowolf raising it's claw behind him. Blake used her semblance to appear on Ren's back, shooting the Beowolf, taking it out, then dissipating. Ren turned back and nodded at Blake, who nodded back.

Nora closed the distance between her and another Beowolf, slamming her hammer into it's skull and sending it crumbling to the ground. With another blow, it was killed. She turned and saw Weiss attacking two Sabyrs at once, using her glyphs to summon ice shards and rock splinters to pierce through them. The sabyrs were stunned, hissing and backing away from her. Yang took this chance to grab one of the rock splinters, and using a shot from her gauntlet to strengthen her stabbing it into the Grimm, successfully taking it out.

"Yang!" Weiss yelled, shooting a fireball in her direction. Yang took this as a sign to jump, flipping over the swinging claws of the Beowolf behind her. She punched at it, shooting at it's head and shoulders, while Weiss's fireball struck it straight through the stomach. Another Grimm taken out, leaving eleven Grimm left to deal with. Weiss turned her attention to the second Sabyr that was attacking her. It leaped at her and slashed at her, barely managing to tear her skirt while she dodged. She summoned several more glyphs and used large blocks of ice to crush the Grimm to death.

Ruby was between two Beowolves, spinning her scythe and shooting bullets at the same time, holding the two Grimm back. One of the Beowolves slashed at her feet, but she dodged it, jumping up and spinning to slice it's head off. She landed next to it's dissipating form and used the ash as a distraction to take out the second Beowolf. Jaune ran past her, brandishing his sword and cutting the legs off of a Beowolf. It fell and collided with a Sabyr, pinning it beneath it's body. Jaune took this chance to plunge his sword through the two Grimm, leaving nothing but ash in their place.

Jaune looked up and watched two Blakes run past him, wrapping around an oncoming Beowolf and using Earth dust to keep it in place. A third Blake ran up and dropkicked the Beowolf, causing it's body to bend backwards and shatter on the spikes of rock behind it. Ren ran past the Grimm that were attacking Ironwood's door. He flipped over a Sabyr that decided to charge at him and slashed at its back, tearing it apart and turning it to ash. He landed in front of a Beowolf, ducking beneath the swing of a Beowolf and twisting his body, so that he sat on its shoulders. He tightened his legs around the Beowolf's neck and shot into its head. Yang ran towards him and punched a hole through its chest, killing it and catching Ren as he fell off. She put him down and readied her fists, going after another Sabyr nearby.

Nora ran to Ren, knocking the Grimm at the door away and watching his back as he tried to pry the doors open. The rest of their teams continued to fight the remaining Grimm behind him. He pounded on the door.

"General Ironwood! Are you there?" There was silence, so Ren grit his teeth and began punching at the door. Nora took out a Beowolf but was pounced on by a Sabyr. Yang chased it down and struck it, successfully killing the last of the Grimm at the door. The two girls turned back and watched their friends finish up the few remaining Grimm that had attacked them earlier. Ruby wiped the sweat off of her brow and took inventory of her friends.

Everyone was okay and accounted for, so they moved forward and joined Ren at the door. They all took cracks at opening it, but we're unable to. Yang looked over at Nora and smirked, getting an eager smile as a response.

Yang charged her fist at the same time that Nora brought up her hammer. The two of them hit the doors at the same time, blowing them off of their hinges and into the room. Ren, Ruby, and Jaune were the first to enter the room, looking around for Ironwood and his Ace Ops- but the room was empty. The rest of the gang came into the room, confused as to where they could go in a room that had no other exits.

It was as if they disappeared.

Until Weiss noticed drops of blood falling from the ceiling. She looked up and saw that Vine and Elm were holding Harriet, Marrow, and Ironwood up against the ceiling. Elm was upside down so that her root semblance could work on the ceiling, and vine acted as a sort of net that held the three others up.

"Look!" She pointed, getting the others to see what she was staring at. Elm let out an angry chuckle and glared down at them.

"Oh **look** , our _heroes_ have arrived." She and Vine lowered themselves to the floor and set everyone down. Harriet's knee was wrapped up and she laid on the floor. Marrow stood besides her, a look of guilt hidden behind an attempt to look tough. Elm and Vine stood besides Ironwood, chests puffed and weapons already out. Ironwood looked down at Weiss and Yang, a dark aura surrounding him.

He took a step towards them, each echo of his footsteps causing Ren to get slightly more and more agitated. Nora took notice, concern filling her face. 'Why was he acting like this all of a sudden?' she wondered. She divided her gaze between approaching Ironwood and Ren besides her. Ruby stood at the forefront of her friends, and Ironwood stopped just a few paces in front of her. There was a silent stand off between the groups, the silence of the room juxtaposed against the screams of Grimm and innocent civilians outside the Atlas tower.

Ironwood took a breath, "You know Ruby, I have every right to arrest your friends here, seeing as they incapacitated one of my Ace Ops."

"If it weren't for us, you would be overrun by Grimm right now." Ruby stood firm against him, keeping her stare on Ironwood.

"We wouldn't have been in that situation in the first place if it weren't for them. They have caused nothing but trouble, and I'm sure you know how I handle trouble." He took his gaze off of Ruby and looked at Yang, who was standing protectively in front of Weiss. They both had angered expressions as they made eye contact.

"James." His gaze was shifted towards Robyn, who he hadn't even noticed was in the room.

"Oh, they let you out. It's fitting that those who cause trouble are drawn to each other."

"They're children James."

"You are in no position to call me that. And they are in no position to be tried as children. The acts of violence that they helped perpetuate will be held at an adult level."

"Yeah well I only reacted that way because of what you did to Qrow!!" Yang yelled, clenching her teeth and bawling her hands into white knuckled fists. Weiss held Yang's arm close to her, calming her down a little.

"I did what was necessary to-"

"Necessary to what?" A voice from behind them spoke. Everyone turned their attention towards the door, watching Oscar walk into the room. Ironwood's calm and collected appearance faulterred as Oscar approached him.

"Oscar..? You lived." He tried to be nonchalant, while the rest of the people were alerted to his words.

"Yes, _we_ survived the bullet, and the fall." Oscar's hands were behind his back, taking a posture that was oh so familiar to Ironwood.

"W... We?" He took a step back, his arm instinctively raising as a barrier between him and his mistakes.

"James." Oscar stopped before James, seemingly looking down at James despite the height difference. "I am disappointed in you. Your actions are a poor reflection of your true self."

"Ozpin, you have no right to talk bad of the actions that I was _forced_ to make, especially since you've been absent for the larger portion of this battle." He regained his composure and did his best to cross his arms.

"So in my absence, you've decided to sacrifice the many for the benefit of the few? How many innocent civilians were left in Mantle? Were you just planning on leaving them here and flying away in Atlas?"

"I'm doing the best I can. Do you see the dire circumstances that I've been dealt? Seeing your history with Salem, I'm surprised you're not on my side of the situation."

"James," Ozpin sighed, "I've spent many lives running away from Salem. All of which amounted to nothing but prolonged death and destruction. I have learned that I should face my demons head on instead of risking the lives of my people." He looked over at Harriet, who was gritting her teeth and clutching her leg. He turned back and looked at Jaune, who nodded and walked over to her. Elm stuck her weapon out, stopping Jaune in his path. Ozpin looked back at Ironwood, who told Elm to stand down. Jaune then rushed to Harriet and began to amplify her aura and help her heal.

Ironwood looked back at Ozpin, "so what, now you want my help in defeating Salem? After the things that I had to deal with, you want me to team up with those who have betrayed me?"

"Differing opinions does not equal betrayal. Though you were prioritizing the lives of the ones you could save, you have to admit that it was more than distasteful to leave the rest of your citizens to face the Grimm alone."

"They aren't alone, I have sent about sixty percent of my troops into Mantle. The rest are at the top of the tower, holding Salem's forces back."

"Then we will join you." He walked over to Ironwood, placing a gentle hand on his arm, "you don't have to face these battles alone." Ironwood's shoulders relaxed, and he nodded his head. He turned back and looked at Harriet, whose knee was no longer broken and bloody but she was unable to stand on it.

"Yeah, it'll take a while for you to use it at 100%, but it should be fine within the next hour." He dusted off his hands and stood up, looking back at Ozpin and getting a nod of approval. He and Marrow bent down and helped Harriet to her feet.

"So what," she struggled, "are we just supposed to trust them now?" She looked at Ironwood, who had a neutral expression.

"Yes. Those are my direct orders." He turned from her and began walking towards the door, but was stopped by Ruby.

"General Ironwood, don't you want Jaune to heal you?" She looked up at him, then down at his patched arm.

He put a hand up, "No, it's alright for now. He should conserve his energy."

"Nonsense! Even though we," Jaune laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head, "might not see eye to eye at the moment, but we're still on the same side."

"Jaune is right." Marrow spoke up, "our forces will be stronger if you're by our side." He looked from Jaune to Ironwood, eyebrows upturned in a look of concern. Ironwood sighed then walked over to Jaune, taking his arm out of the sling and undoing the bandages. It pained him to move his arm, his skin cracking with the slightest of movements. Jaune let Harriet go and put his hands on Ironwood, a glow emanating from one body part to another. His arm was healed in a moment, though his arm had a darker tint than the rest of his body.

He looked down at his arm, opening and closing the fingers on his hand. Yang watched him, looking at his movements as a symbol that he's coming back to his humanity, though it had been tainted. Yang looked down at her own hands, noticing how close she could come to ending up like Ironwood- more machine than man. Weiss took her arm again, shifting her focus to her. They shared a smile between them and then turned to Ruby, who was walking towards Ozpin.

"Oz, what's the plan?" He turned to her and put his hands behind his back.

"We have to lead Salem away from the tower, no matter the cost. If we can push her back to wherever she came from, we can buy ourselves time to get more security for the tower."

"Alright," Ruby turned to everyone, "let's do this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if this chapter was a little boring >m< I'm trying to get a bunch of plot things out of the way in order to get hella more Freezerburn moments. Don't worry~ They are coming!!


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